This Is Not a Bug but a Game Feature-Chapter 163 - 127: Am I Playing a Pirated Copy? (2)

Chapter 163: Chapter 127: Am I Playing a Pirated Copy? (2)

He developed a new strategy.

Only then did everyone realize, oh, so the Great Emperor of Winter’s combo is like this, and you have to sacrifice health to apply the "Winter" Buff to the opponent...

Once the correct approach was figured out, the Great Emperor of Winter’s win rate shot up, even to the point of needing a nerf.

This incident also served as a wake-up call for Chen Ba.

It was that he must constantly pay attention to the players’ movements and discussion content, because players might understand the game better than you do.

So from then on, he would create a small account every day to browse the forum’s popular discussion and sharing posts, to see what kind of tricks the players come up with.

Today was no exception.

However, as soon as he opened the forum, he was immediately left speechless by a trending post title.

[Thank you, Ba, thank you, Tianba Studio, thank you "Love Advisor Department" for helping me successfully find true love!]

What nonsense are you talking?

This wasn’t the first time Chen Ba had seen such a post; ever since the release of "Love Advisor Department," every day someone would use such titles to show off their "paper-cut-out" wife.

Isn’t it embarrassing?

Naming a title that is easy to misunderstand just to show off the paper-cut-out girl you hooked up with in the game?

Just delete it already!

Everyone speaks as if no one else has a paper-cut-out wife, are you aware that the top few players have divorced eight times?

Thinking it was another post showing off a paper-cut-out wife, Chen Ba wasn’t interested in clicking it at all.

But as he scrolled with his mouse wheel to check further, he noticed something very peculiar.

This post...

Why are the comments and likes so high?

Seeing over 6000 comments and an astounding 120,000 likes, Chen Ba rubbed his eyes, wondering if he had read it wrong.

120,000 likes?

What’s going on! This should be a new record for the official forum, shouldn’t it? No trending post has ever received over 100,000 likes before.

Intrigued, Chen Ba clicked on the post.

"Hello everyone, my name is Zhang Pengfei, game ID ’General Fei Peng’, I’m 27 years old from Huizhou!"

"I was one of the first players to get ’Love Advisor Department,’ my total playtime has exceeded 200 hours by now..."

Damn! So hardcore?

Seeing the poster’s self-reported 200-hour game time, Chen Ba was stunned.

The game’s early release just debuted over a month ago, and you’ve clocked 200 hours, averaging four hours a day. Do you not work or go to school?

Remembering the post’s title, Chen Ba suddenly had a bold idea.

Could it be?

"...After seeking assistance, I met Lin following which I bought her a street vendor pancake."

"Aside from exchanging gifts, we also went to the zoo and amusement park together, rode a roller coaster, and watched movies together..."

In the post, Zhang Pengfei detailed what he and Lin had done and shared bits of their interactions.

Then, came the turning point.

One day, while playing normally, Zhang Pengfei suddenly discovered that whenever he got close to Lin, the game would pop up several interaction options he had never seen before.

Confess, hold hands, hug...

Screenshots don’t lie!

This stunned everyone, including Chen Ba in front of the screen.

He guessed the content of this post would be explosive, otherwise, it wouldn’t have gathered so many comments and likes.

But he truly didn’t expect that in "Love Advisor Department," there would be hidden, explosive interaction content like this.

"At first, when I saw these interaction options, I didn’t think it was strange, just thought it was a display bug."

"But later, when I asked Juanzi, I realized that these options appeared when she began to have feelings for me..."

"Perhaps it was a coincidence, or maybe it’s fate! Anyway, after these options appeared, our relationship quickly warmed up."

"A week later, unable to contain my curiosity and excitement, I attempted to confess to Juanzi in the game..."

"Thanks to Ba! Thanks to Tianba Studio, thank you to the game ’Love Advisor Department’ for helping me find such a wonderful girlfriend! [Attached Photo.JPG]"

The post ended with a photo.

It was a picture of two young people with their faces pixelated, cuddling tightly in the sunset.

To borrow a phrase from a fan of ’Love Advisor Department’: Huh?!

Chen Ba’s head buzzed.

And it was not just him, the other players who read the post were also in a temporary state of shock.

"What’s going on here?"

"I bought the game for the same 68 bucks, why is it that I can only chase paper-cut-out characters, while you managed to get a real person?"

"Is it because I’m playing a pirated version?"

"I want my money back! I want to play the original!"

"Wishing you happiness! By the way, what’s going on with the first screenshot, being able to confess to other players?"

"I just tried it, but it’s not there!"

Once Chen Ba came back to his senses, he read through the exchanges and discussions among other players in the post, realizing what the problem was.

Exactly!

The interaction options appearing in the first screenshot don’t even exist in the game!

Confessing, holding hands, and hugging interactions can only be used with NPC characters who have developed feelings, they don’t work on other players.

This can’t be wrong.

Concerned he might have remembered incorrectly, Chen Ba even entered the game to test it out and indeed found no such options.

"Could it be that it’s only available with opposite-gender characters? You asked me to test, but it’s not something I can detect?"

Lu thought Ba was probably out of his mind, having him enter the game to ride a roller coaster and watch a movie together...

What are we testing for really?

If testing for what’s described in the post, shouldn’t you find an opposite-gender player?

"Makes sense."

Chen Ba instructed, "Then quickly go register a female account!"

Lu: "..."

Though unwilling, Lu registered a female account and joined Ba for the testing.

"Gifts can be sent, and after events like roller coaster rides, movies, and dinners, special interaction options will appear..."

The more Chen Ba examined, the more familiar it seemed.

This was the same interaction template used for pursuing NPCs, the difference being that NPCs respond automatically based on their liking level.

While players have the freedom to choose.

For example, sending a "Dinner Invitation" — the NPC will automatically decide whether to accept based on current affection levels.

Players will see a pop-up to accept or reject the invitation, choosing freely...

"Wait a moment!"

Midway through the test, Chen Ba seemed to think of something and called out to Lu, who was about to proceed with the next test.

"What’s up, Ba?"

Lu was curious, as the test wasn’t finished yet; they hadn’t pinpointed the circumstances under which these "confess to other players" interactions occurred.

"I know the answer now!"

Chen Ba didn’t explain but activated the game’s backend monitoring mode, displaying the real-time affection curve on the screen.

Damn?!

Seeing this curve, Lu nearly popped his eyes out.

What’s going on?

Isn’t this supposed to be the NPC-exclusive affection curve? How come it’s applicable to players too?

"Continue testing!"

Chen Ba gestured for Lu to focus and continue with the next set of tests.

Then...

They witnessed an astonishing scene.

With each interaction between players, particularly with each choice made, the affection curve would rise or fall, just like with the NPCs.

"So, what you’re saying is..."

Lu swallowed hard, "When players make relevant choices, their affection curves vary, and once it reaches a certain point, it unlocks special interactions like confessions, hand-holding, kissing, hugging?"

"It seems so."

Chen Ba nodded.

Building a relationship, then continuously warming it up until confessing confirms it, allowing for intimate interactions...

This makes perfect sense!

The only oddity was, this system was initially for developing relationships between players and NPCs, why does it work between players too?

Working is one thing!

The key is that this response system originally for NPC feelings also works excellently with players?